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Reasons not to go online – # 2,447

Sometimes the universe seems to line things up, so that it feels as though you are receiving a domino-chain of affirmation – random things, unrelated or only tangentially so, that fall into place with a sound like yes! Yes. Yes. See, we’re aligning for you! Yes. Yes. Yes.Synchronicity, in other words. I try not to be superstitious (or at least no more so than any other person who bases quite a big chunk of their personal happiness on creativity of some sort) (which doesn’t sound healthy, now I see it in type). But this is something I do believe in. That the universe does occasionally give nudges, hints, little shoves even. And it doesn’t have to be mystical – just a matter of circumstance and your perception of it making a particular goal or path seem more simple than usual. It is a Good Thing.

And then there’s the dark side. You know, when a perfectly ordinary activity suddenly, for no apparent reason, accumulates difficulty. So despite really really looking forward to teaching this new class, having a lot of the material ready to go, all good, I find myself feeling somewhat wary. Think long-tailed cat in a rocking-chair shop. This week Has Not Been Great. Not bad, but … Lots of little things. A (brief) power-cut when I was trying to pull class materials together. Phone calls from people trying to sell me something. Bread going mouldy. Losing a book I needed for four days. Thunder and lightning on two seperate days, meaning I have to unplug everything and wait for it to pass before I can get back into my work. Like I said, all very minor.

But then, while doing a bit of online research to finalise the first class, I came across this post on the Best American Poetry blog about Bad Workshops.